Wheeled carriages for supporting a patient in a substantially horizontal position are well known and a representative example of an early version of such a device is illustrated in Dr. Homer E. Stryker's U.S. Pat. No. 3,304,116, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Improvements to Dr. Stryker's innovative wheeled carriage have been made over the years. The patient support apparatus disclosed herein is another version of an improvement, which improvement is based upon the request received from the patient care industry for a light weight patient support apparatus and having features thereon which will minimize attendant injury as well as other features that are easily controllable by the attendant.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a patient support apparatus, as aforesaid, wherein a gatch control is provided at the foot end of the litter frame for easy access by the attendant.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a patient support apparatus, as aforesaid, wherein an elevating mechanism is provided with an enveloping telescoping shroud readily secured to the base and litter of the patient support apparatus.